WAITE INSTITL}TE s. 8. ,t* LIBRARY STUDTES IN THE ECOLOGY OF PIIEASANTIS EYE (Adonis microcarpus DC.) Thesis submitted by P.M. KLOOT B.Ag.Sc. (Hons). for the degree of MASTER OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE in the FACULTY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE ín the UNIVERSITY OF ADELATDE Northfield Research Laboratories DepartmenÈ of Agriculture Adelaide, South Australia and Department of Agronomy, Waite Agricultural Research fnstitute Adelaide,' South Australia December, L973 FRONTISPIECE: Adonis microcarpus DC. CONTENTS Page SUMMARY l- STATEMENT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL INTRODUCTION I CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 3 2.I INTRODUCTION 3 2.2 DISTRIBUTTON OF ADONTS 3 2.2I The V'Iorld 3 2.2I1 Europe 4 2.2l2 Great Britain 4 2.2]3 North America 5 2.2L4 Elsewhere 6 2.22 Australia 6 2.22L N.S.W. and gueensland 6 2.222 Victoria 7 2.223 South Australia 7 2.23 Factorç Affecting Distribution 7 2 "23]- ClímaÈe 7 2.232 TopographY I 2.233 SoiI TYPe I 2.3 TAXONOMY 9 2"3I General Taxonomy 9 2.311, The Genus Adonis 9 2.3L2 Relationship to Other Genera 9 2.313 Sections Within the Genus 10 2.32 The Taxonomy of the Annual Species of Adonis 11 2"32l- Historical 11 2.322 Riedl's Classification 11 Page 2.323 Later Treatments T4 (a) Maire (1964) L4 (b) Tutin et a7' (1964) L7 (c) Davis (1965) 18 (d) Steinberg (1970) 18 2I 2.33 The Taxonomy of Adonis in Australia 2.33I N.S.!q. and Victoria 2L 2.332 South Australia 22 22 2.4 ADONTS AS A VIEED 2.4t A Poisonous Plant 23 2.42 A lrfeed of Crop and Pasture 24 2.43 Current Control Procedures 25 25 2.5 GROWIH AND PHYS IOLOGY OF åDONÍS 26 2 "5L The Perennials 2,52 The Annuals 26 2.52L MorPhologY 26 2.522 BiochemistrY 27 27 2 "523 EcologY 2.524 Germination 27 29 CHAPTER 3 - TAXONOMY OF ADONTS IN AUSTRALIA 29 3.I INTRODUCTION 29 3.2 MATERTALS AND METHODS 3.3 DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA 32 3.31 Plant Height, Branch Number and Leaf Dimensions 32 3.32 Spike Shape 32 3.33 Petal ShaPe 33 3.34 Corolla Size 33 33 3 .35 Petal Colour Page 3.36 Villousness of P1ant Parts 35 3.37 The Achene 36 3.371 Size of the Acirene 36 3.372 Shape of the Achene 37 3.4 PREVIOUS AUSTRALTAN DETERMINATTONS 38 3.5 THE SUITABILTTY OF MATERIAL FOR CLASSIFICATION 42 3.6 OBSERVATÍONS 47 3 .61 The Plant 47 3.62 The Flower 49 3.62L Calyx 49 3.622 Corolla 49 3 .63 The Achene 50 3.631 Spike 50 3.632 Achene Size 50 3.633 Achene Shape 51 3.634 Beak of Achene 52 (a) Colour and Size 52 (b) Direction 52 3.7 CONCLUSIONS 53 3.8 SPECIES DESCRIPTION 58 3.9 DISTRIBUTION 60 CHAPTER 4 - THE CURRENT DISTRIBUTTON MEANS OF SPREAD AND ORIGIN OF ÀDO¡VÍS IN AUSTRALIA 66 4.I INTRODUCTION 66 4.2 THE CURRENT DISTRI BUTION OF ÀDONÍS IN SOUEH AUSTRALIA 66 4.2I Methods 66 4.22 Results 67 4.3 THE CURRENT DTSTRIBUTION OF åDONTS IN STATES 7L Page 4.31 Methods 7L 4.32 Results 7I 4.32L New South lrlales - Queensland 7T 4.322 Victoria 7I 4.323 V{estern Australia 72 4.4 THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DI STRIBUTTON OF ADON.TS 72 4.41 Cli¡natic Inf luences 73 4.4L1 Rainfall 73 (a) Total Rainfall 73 (b) Seasonal Distrlbution 77 (c) VariabilitY of Rainfall 77 4.4J-2 TemPerature 78 4.42 TopograPhY 79 4.43 SoiI TYPe 80 4.43L other States 8I 4.432 l¡Íithín South Australia 8I 4.44 Land Usage 85 88 4.5 THE INTRODUCTTON OF .åÐofi-rs rNTo AUSTRALIA 4.5L The Method of Introduction 88 4.52 The origín of the Australian Mat'erial 93 4.52I Morphological Evidence 93 4.522 Evidence from Commerce 93 94 4.6 THE SPREAD OF åDOIVTS 4.6L PrimarY SPread 94 4.62 SecondarY SPread 96 4.63 Future Spread - The Potential for Adonis 99 Page CHAPTER 5 - THE BIOLOGY OF ADONTS t01 5.1 INTRODUCTION 101 5.2 MORPHOLOGY I01 5.3 ECOLOGY 103 5.31 Materials and Methods 103 5.32 Results and Observations r04 5.321 1970 Experiment 104 5 "322 197I Experl-ment 104 5.33 Discussion r06 5.4 GERMINATION 109 5.4I Fie1d Studies 110 5.411 Effects of Achene Burial 110 5.4L2 Seasonal Límitations to Germination 111 5.413 Germination percentage 113 5.42 Laboratory Studies 113 CHAPTER 6 - THE CONTROL OF åDOIVTS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 115 6.L INTRODUCTTON 115 6.2 THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM 1r5 6.3 THE CONTROL OF ADOIVTS IN CROPS 118 6.4 ARRESTING THE SPREAD OF .åDOIVÍS 119 6.5 THE CONTROL OF .ADOIVÍS IN PASTURES r20 6 .51 Prior Vüork L2L 6.52 1969 Trial - RoseworthY l-23 6.53 1970 Trial - Arthurton l-25 6.54 1971 Trial - Arthurton t29 6.55 1972 Tri.als - Dutton and Arthurton 130 6.56 Subsequent Developments 135 6.6 A SCHEME FOR CONTROLLING ADONTS 136 Page 6.7 FUTURE WORK 136 APPENDICES 138 BIBLIOGRAPHY L7L LIST OF FIGURES After Page 1. The natural distribution of annual species of Adonis L. (Sect. ådonjs DC") (after Meusel et al-, 1965). 3 2. The natural distribution of. A" aestivaLis L- (ibid). 3 3. The naturatr distribution of A. annuus L. emend. Huds. (redrawn from Meusel et aL., L965). 3 4. The natural distributíon of A" mictocarpus DC. (after Meusel et aL. , L965). 3 5" The distribution of ^4. an¡?uus in the British Isles (after Perring and Walters, 1.962). 5 6. Generalised diagram of Adonjs achene illustrating descriptive terms used in the text. 11 7. The location of yellow-flowered populations of Adonis microcarpus in South Australia. 11 8. The distribution of Adonis mÍcrocarpus in South Australia. 69 o Distribution of A. mictocarpus in Australia - origín of herbarium specimens outside South Australia. 7I r0. Location of sites listed in Table 1. 75 11. climatic limitations to the distribution of À. mictocatpus in South Australia 79 L2" County DaIy, South Australia - the relationship between infestations of Ad,onis microcarpus and soil associations. 83 13. County Light, South Australia - the relationship between infestations of Adonis mictocarpus and soil associations. 85 L4. The spread. af Adonis microcarpus in South Austrafia to 1940. 96 LIST OF PLATES After Page Adonis mìcrocarpus DC. Frontispiece 1. First specimen of å. mictocarpus recorded in South Australia 9 2. Specimen collected. by ,I.B. Cleland in 1945 and annoÈated by J.M. Black. 40 3. Achene drawn by J.M. Black. 4L 4" Achene variation due to soil tyPe. 4L 5. Plants colfected from StockPort. 42 6" Achenes from Stockport plants. 43 7" Plants collected from Redhill. 44 8. Achene variation due to drought. 45 o typical spike of Ä. mictocarpus iltustrating the effects of stem position on achene maturity and beak direction. 45 10. A. microcârpus at full development. 48 1r. Variation in achene ornamentation. 51 L2. A. mictocarpus spreading from an abandoned homestead, Truro' S "4. 95 13. A severe infestation of A. mictocarpus in a medic pasture, near Arthurton, S.4., SPring 1968. 116 LIST OF TABLES Page I Rainfall Records at Selected Centres Throughout the Region Infested with ådonjs in Australia 74 z Changes in the Composition of an Annual Pasture at Arthurton, S.A. During the Growing Season of 1971 r05 3 Effects of Cultural Treatments on the Composition of Plant Populations - Arthurton 1971 106 4. Effects on Herbicides on Numbers of Adonìs Plants Dutton 1972 133 APPENDICES I Material identified and deposited in the State Herbarium, Adelaide, April 1971 and February 1973. 138 II Adonis achene collection deposited in the State Herbarium, Adelaide, February 1973. r46 III. Distribution of Adonis in South Australia - precise locations defined by Hundred and Section number. 148 IV DisÈribution of Adonis in South Australia - general locality references (un1ikely to be included in Appendix III). 162 V. Chemical names of herbicides used. 168 VI. Visual appraisal of herbicidal effects - scale of rating. 168 VIT. Harvest data from Dutton tríal, L972. r70 VIII. Analytical key to t,he annual species of Adonis ) After ) page IXO The mod.e of action and uses of bromoxvnil ) 170 i. SUMMARY The taxonomy of Èhe annual species of the genus Adonis L. (Fam. Ranuncu-Z,aceae) found. in Australia was revised. Previous authors had determined that å. annuus L.emend Huds. (Syn. ¿. autumnal-is L.) and A. aestiva-Zis L. were presenÈ. Examination of the Australian material revealed general uniformity in all characters except that some variaÈion was found in achene ornamen- tation, in particular, the degree of dentation of the transverse crest. It was coneluded that all the material was referable to A. dentatus DeI. ssp. microcarpus (oc.¡ Riedl or A. dentatus sçp" intermedius (We¡¡ et Berth.) Riedl. These taxa were shown'to be virtually indistinguishable except for the degree of dentation of the transverse crest. Recent authors have considered them mutually synonymous and to be included in å. microcatpus Dc. It r^ras found that adequate material for taxonomic determination must meet certain criteria. The achenes must be fully mature' contain a normaf seed and be low on the carpellary spike. Previous errors in determínation were attributed to these criteria not being met. A comparíson of plants grown in favourable and' adverse environments revealed the limits of morphological differences in South Australia, and a full description of the species and complete herbarium records for Australia are given.